Bronx Poem

I was born in the Bronx on a strong day
I guess you can say
The beat in the street, the streetcorner sound
The singin' in the moonlight, the pure light
The harmony's tight
Informed we can fight
We got heart
And [unintelligible] always

Yo, when I'm inside a song
I'm strong, I can't go wrong, It's where I belong

Come along, it's good, it's bad
Who said it was perfect
Only God is perfect
Only God is good

Man he blessed me beyond my wildest dreams
I can sing from the highest mountain
I can sing from the highest rooftop
I'm talkin' life, I'm talkin' beauty
Truth, love, hate, scammin', lyin', dyin'
Yo, life is hard

But life is the art
It's better to be clean than to be cleaver
Clean and sober, that is

My God is the Creator, not a dictator,
He's the life-giving lover,
My father, no other, my brother, my best friend
Never lied to me, even died for me

Life is good
We're talkin' you
We're talkin' sweet Sue
We're talkin' virtue
We're talkin' faith, hope, love, wisdom,
Courage, honesty, patience

Then there's blue skies,
There's miracles
There's families and babies and crazies
Changes you won't believe
I got aces up my sleeve

And God keeps blessin' me
In spite of me
He's the best
If I didn't know me I'd be impressed.

I don't wanna underestimate what He can do in my life
He gave me you in my life
He brought me through all this strife
Everybody here, we've been through it all
Real joy, closeness, distance, journey, the ups, the downs
The issues, the tissues, the drugs, the thugs, the drinkin', the stinkin' thinkin',
Throw up, grow up

Tears, fears, torn, mourn, reborn
Yo! Hallelujah!

I've never been the same, took away my shame
I used to play the blame game
How lame
Man I got a wife who drives me sane

Here I am authentic, genuine, a truth-teller, no bullshit
Don't have a fit,
God's on his throne
He's in control

Heroes, villains, king, queens, saints, sinners,
James Dean, Norma Jean, mmm vanilla ice cream
Elvis, Buddy, Hank
Honky-tonk blues guitars, cars, bars

Yo! Stand proud, rock loud, do-wop, be-bop, rock-and-roll, good for the soul
The Yankees, JFK, I did it my way, rock and roll is here to stay
Ain't that the truth

Martin Luther King, say what you mean, mean what you say, but don't be mean
I have a dream, he paid his dues, king of the delta blues
Elvis Aaron Presley played that thing, rock and roll king,

I ride with the King of kings
He brought me through, thanks to you, and you and you.
Man I'm glad we've got each other, no doubt about that, that's where it's at,

With great love and affection
The kid from the Bronx
Rave on.